• Rajesh Bhavsar, Pia Katarina Ryhammer, Jacob Greisen, and Carl-Johan Jakobsen.
• Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2018 Apr 1; 32 (2): 731-738.

ObjectiveAdjustment in the doses of opioids has been a focus of interest for achieving better fast-track conditions in cardiac anesthesia, but relatively sparse information exists on the potential effect of psychologic and behavioral factors, such as stress, anxiety, and type of personality, on anesthesia requirements and patient turnover in the cardiac recovery unit (CRU); to the authors' knowledge, this particular focus has not been systematically investigated. In this randomized study, the authors tested the hypothesis that low-dose sufentanil, compared with a standard dose, can improve fast-track parameters and the overall quality of recovery. Opioid requirements related to personality type, pain sensitivity, and preoperative stress and anxiety also were assessed.DesignA randomized, prospective study.ParticipantsThe study comprised 60 patients scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass grafting with or without aortic valve replacement.SettingA university hospital.InterventionsPatients were randomly assigned to receive either a standard dose (bolus 0.5 µg/kg) or low dose (bolus 0.25 µg/kg) of sufentanil combined with propofol.Measurements And Main ResultsThe primary outcome variables were ventilation time and eligible time to discharge from the CRU. The secondary objective was to evaluate the relationship between opioid requirements and personality type, pain sensitivity, and preoperative stress and anxiety. The groups were comparable in selected demographics and perioperative parameters. There was no difference between groups in ventilation time (low dose: 191 [163-257] v standard dose: 205 [139-279] min; p = 0.405); eligible CRU discharge time (10.3 ± 5.0 v 10.3 ± 4.2 h; p = 0.978); or administration of postoperative morphine (25 [11-34) v 27 [10-39] g; p = 0.790). There was no difference between groups in total sufentanil administration and various preoperative psychologic and behavioral test levels nor in the time to reach bispectral index <50 during induction, except that personality type A demonstrated a longer induction time of 10 (8-12) minutes versus 6 (4-8) minutes in low-score patients.ConclusionA lower dose of sufentanil, compared with a standard dose, does not enhance fast-track conditions significantly.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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